


Misadventures of the Stark and the Soldier

by jessthebrunette



Series: Adventures of a Teenage Avenger [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Big Brother Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Irondad, Protective Bucky Barnes, Soft Bucky Barnes, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:11:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20127658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessthebrunette/pseuds/jessthebrunette
Summary: A collection of one shots from Bucky and Stella’s time of living together, the miracles of how the house did not burn down.





	1. The TV Incident

The first week of living with Bucky was proving okay, he liked to keep to himself mainly, which Stella was definitely not used to. Living between the Tower and the compound was definitely not a living arrangement she’d called private, sure she could disappear to her floor in the Tower and her suite in the the compound, but someone always busted in uninvited. 

But Bucky, he didn’t. He’d ask her if it was okay to sit with her, or start cooking in the kitchen- at least fifteen times a day she’d have to remind him it was his house too, he didn’t need to ask permission for anything, though he never broke the habit. 

He liked to cook for her though, and he was good, she’d asked him where he learnt and he said within the two years he’d been in hiding. He didn’t have much else to do, so he taught himself to cook, or retaught himself, he said he wasn’t exactly sure. 

Bucky wasn’t exactly sure on much, which always broke Stella a little bit, the only thing he was always certain of, when he was in the right frame of mind, was his name. She always had to call him Bucky, nothing else, he said it was his name before his life went to hell, and it was the name Steve bought him back with.

There were little things she’d noticed, like his inability to leave the plants, they both had a tree each, and Bucky liked to hide behind them. He was starting to favor her tree, which she hoped was a sign he was starting to trust her. 

Then there were the big things she’d noticed, like the TV incident. 

There had been a flat-screen TV in the common area of the house, Stella had put it on to watch a movie, it was only the third day in the villa, and. icky wasn’t feeling too sociable. 

It was just a dumb horror movie, Stella sat watching it absentmindedly, her thoughts drifting away to Steve and how he was absolutely going to murder her, or be grateful that she was helping the man he had searched for endlessly for going on three years. 

There was a loud gunshot on the TV, loud enough to make Stella jump at least, the protagonist had killed the cheesy knife murderer. Stella didn’t think much of it until Bucky came into the room holding the his tree by the pot, compost spewing out all over their tiled floors. 

He threw the potted plant at the source of all the noise, the TV, it hit it with a large bang, and a splintered crack now littered the screen. It abruptly turned back and a small hissing noise began to emit from the back of the TV. 

“Bucky! You killed the screen!”

“It was shooting!”

“It was a film, Bucky!”

“Sorry! I panicked!”

“You killed your tree!”

“I prefer yours anyway.”

“I preferred a working TV and look where that got me.”

“I’m really sorry, Stella.”

“You don’t like the noise of the TV?”

Bucky shook his head ashamedly, Stella thought how weird a TV would seem to him, by the time he was taken by Hydra, TV’s were barely in existence. 

“That’s cool, we won’t have a TV. We don’t need it. I’ll start introducing you to some cooler modern stuff instead, maybe that can be our first task into welcoming you into the modern era. We can choose a type of media!”

“Has anyone ever told you you talk a lot?”

“Literally my whole life, and I’ve never stopped, better get used to it.”

“It’s the opposite of what I’m used to.”

“Good. Now, tell me, Bucky, what’s your thoughts on music? Ever heard of the Beatles?”

“Yes, it’s a bug.”

“You are going to have such a good education with me, better buckle up.”


	2. Pop Culture

She flung herself around the room wildly, jumping on beat with the song, Bucky sat in the corner of the room, watching her and looking terrified. The corner of his mouth would lift up occasionally, but he mainly looked like he thought she was insane. 

She swung her hair around and laughed, her head titling to its loud beats, she smiled loudly as Bucky cringed as she started singing. 

“I think we’re alone now! Doesn’t seem to be anyone around!”

He put his fingers in his ears and pulled a face as she tried to hit the high notes, she may have been talented at a few things, but clearly in Bucky’s opinion, singing wasn’t one of them. 

“What the hell is this?”

“It’s Tiffany!”

“It’s loud!”

“We’re in the 80s now, Bucky. Everything about the 80s is loud! It’s my favourite decade!”

“That’s not a surprise.”

“You liked the 60s and the 70s! The Four Seasons and the BeeGees!” 

“That’s because they weren’t loud.”

“Hold up! I’ll play you a less loud one, I promise it’s good.”

“You promised I’d like garlic bread.”

“Not my fault you’re a freak.”

“That’s not a berry nice thing to call me, I’ve been tortured.”

“Did you just joke about being tortured?”

“I think so.”

“Maybe that’s a step in recovery, being able to laugh at your pain. Not that yours is anything to laugh about.”

“Neither is yours, and you seem to laugh a lot.”

“I’m telling you, it’s pop culture! It’s the perfect distraction! Come and choose a song with me!”

“By choose?”

“I get to choose that you listen to it.”

“See, you’re more bossy than you let on.”

“Sit down and take in the rhythm.”

“Did you have a lot of protein for breakfast? You’re very commanding today.”

“And you’re very chatty for you, I bet is because of the 80s music.”

“I hate the 80s.”

“Now that’s uncalled for.”

“Does music just keep getting louder? It seems that way.”

“Wait till we get to the modern stuff, it’ll give you a headache.”

“You’re my headache.”

“Shut your face, Bucky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stella will force 80s music on anyone, just so you know


	3. Nightmares

Bucky screamed sometimes. 

Always at night, after he’d fallen asleep. 

Stella had Jones tracking his sleeping schedule, but he didn’t actually have one. Bucky would fall asleep for half an hour, wake up, check round the house, check in on her, and go back to his room. 

That’s when he’d wake up screaming. 

Stella would run in and soothe him, the first time she did it she ended up with a metal hand round her throat, but once she lifted up her hand and showed him her green, he released her, apologising profusely and eyes forming with guilty tears. 

But after his first night of screaming, he seemed to invite Stella to come and comfort him, he liked it when she read to him, just whatever book was lying around. She read to him until her fell asleep, but would always read a little bit further on, just to keep him asleep. 

He played with her hair when she read, curling the ends of her long ponytail with his fingers, a soft smile on his face. He always gave her that smile now, and she felt it was reserved just for her. 

Sometimes he’d like to him as she read, or stop her and make comments on the story, it was when he’d start talking more, after his nightmares. 

“They tortured me, I think,” he said one night, cutting her off from her paragraph. “It’s a bit sick I can’t remember, but I’m never really sure. Real life and old life and dreams all get mixed into one big blur, but I can pick out certain things now. I can remember pain, and shocking, and stabbing, and burning. It always feels too real to be a dream.”

“Every time you remember it, anytime you feel it, write down something else, something good you remember. The good old days, before the war, before anything. I’ll get you a diary. Remember there’s so much good in you, Bucky, and you never let Hydra take it out of you.”

One night Stella screamed. 

Visions of metal wings being ripped out, blood, the cries of children, a glowing green encasing her and not leaving, not being able to stop her powers. Her Dad being scared of her, Steve and Sam staring at her like she was a monster. 

She’d reached out and blasted them, green flying through the air, she wasn’t able to stop, but she didn’t regret it, maybe she was happy about it, she was so powerful, her Dad stood in front of her, no armour, hands held out in front of him to stop her. 

“Stop it, troubl-“

She blasted him, a green glow forming around his body. 

That’s when she woke up, a large hand shaking her, she looked down and saw green glowing off her. She sat up right and scrambled over to the corner of her bed, hugging her legs towards her. 

“Doll, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Bucky said, sitting in the bed, motioning her towards him. “Come here, it’s okay.”

She made her way towards him, forcing her energy back inside of her, he wrapped her up in his arms, laying a kiss on her hair. He hummed quietly, waiting for her to start the conversation. 

“I’m going to hurt someone I love one day,” she whispered, Bucky faltered slightly, but wrapped his arm round her tighter. “When I lose control, when I’m really angry, what if I really hurt someone, like my Dad?”

Bucky was quiet for a while, obviously thinking carefully over his next words. 

“I honk that everyday with you,” he said quietly, this time Stella tightened her grip on him. “What if I suddenly switch and you’re not ready? Or he comes out and your powers don’t work?”

“I’m terrified that I’m going to hurt you, doll, or hurt anyone I truly care about, because he doesn’t care, I don’t think he has the ability too. But, we carry on, we trust ourselves to protect the ones I love, and you’re probably the must protective person I know. You’re so caring Stel, so full of light, if sunshine was a persona it would be you. You are good, pure and good. Nothing about you will ever change that.”

“When did 1940’s Brooklyn get so soppy?”

“When he had to take care of his little sister.”

“You had a sister?”

“I did, she was a lot like you,” he smiled, his eyes darting back to a past time. “Loud, confident, too talkative for her own good.”

“Sounds like a good sister to me.”

“She died, a few years back, I tried researching up on her. I missed her by a few months.”

“I’m so sorry, Bucky.”

“Don’t be, it was actually looking for her   
that helped Fury find me, and therefore sending me, you.”

“Thank you for helping me tonight.”

“You do it for me.”

They fell asleep that way, Stella bundled up in his arms like she was a little kid, Bucky’s metal arm glistening in the light of the moon that was breaking through her curtains, for once being used to protect instead of attack. 

Bucky Barnes could not have been more grateful to the universe for sending him Stella Stark, and that was the night he realised it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love bucky so much, i’m so excited for falcon and the winter soldier


	4. Baking

As Stella opened her eyes, she became aware of music, and loud music. She groaned and tried to cover her ears with her pillow, rolling over to go back to sleep. That just made the vibrations of the music worse, she was wide awake now anyway, she stood up with a plan to kill Bucky, especially when she looked at the time to see it was 5 AM.

She rushed down to the source of the noise, the kitchen, and with a twang realised that this wasn’t a modern song, it was definitely from the 40s, it had that classic soft melody. She leant against the kitchen door, watching Bucky as he swayed softly to the music, his hair tied up into a ponytail, a mixing bowl in his hands, which he was stirring in time to his sways. 

He sang softly under his breath, almost as if he didn’t as doing it, his mouth twitched up in the corner. He caught sight of her in the corner of his eye and smiled brightly, he was always glad to see her now, and he always looked so much happier. 

“Morning, Doll,” he greeted, obviously having no regret for how early it was. “Care for a dance?” 

“It’s still dark outside, Buck.”

“Perfect time for a dance.”

He held out his hand, she took it with a smile on her face, rolling her eyes fondly, he span her round gracefully, and caught her in his arms like an expert, swaying her in time with the music. She laughed with him as they started to twirl round the kitchen, he dipped her making her beam, and her hands start to glow, the low light from outside making her glow seem brighter than ever. 

“You’re glowing again, sunshine,” Bucky grinned, everyone was always smug when they saw her glow, expect Peter who acted like she was a radioactive monster. 

“I’ll have you know it’s your expertise in dancing that’s making me happy, no one has danced with me like that expect my Dad.”

“I was quite the catch back in the 40s you know, Stevie and I used to take girls dancing.”

“Steve danced back in the 40s?”

“Not well, he usually bunked off.”

“He’s not bad now, guess the serum made him less clumsy.”

“Steve has danced with you?”

“Oh yeah, at a gala, he stopped all the weirdos watching me.”

“I taught him a lot of his dance moves. He was small enough to spin around like you.”

“That’s cute, Bucky. It’s hard for me to imagine him like that, he must have been adorable.”

“He was.”

Stella watched as Bucky got that far away look in his eyes like he often did when thinking about Steve, one full of something she didn’t quite understand yet, but knew it was something she couldn’t wait to feel. 

“Did he know how you felt about him back then?”

“He did, we were together, in secret obviously, but he loved me too.” 

“He loves you now, that explains why he’s so determined to find you.” 

“Silly Stevie.”

“Why are you up at 5 AM?”

“I’m baking.”

“Do you know how to bake?”

“That robot thing of yours told me how.”

“Don’t call Jonesy a robot, Jones deserves the highest amount of respect.” 

“Sorry,” Bucky said, clearly not meaning it. “Jones helped me bake.”

“What did you bake?”

“Cookies.”

“Where are they?”

He gestured enthusiastically to the bowl, she had no idea what he’d eaten so early in the morning to make him hyper, but she had a suspicious this wasn’t his first batch of cookies. She stuck her finger in the mix and bought it up to her mouth, only to be stopped by a metal hand curling around her mouth. 

“You eat that and I might slap you.”

“You kind of suck, Bucky, stop mothering me and let me eat the raw cookie dough.”

“Mothering? More like brothering.”

“That’s not a thing, Buck.”

“Whatever you say, squirt.”

“Do you really see me as a sister?”

“You’re annoying enough to be.”

“Awh, Bucky,” she cooed, moving round to face him. “If you really think that, then let me eat the damn cookie dough.”

“Do you want to die?”

“If cookie dough takes me out, then at least I’ll die happy.”

Bucky started at her for a full minute, staring at her like she was a little weirdo. 

“What’s wrong with you, Doll?”

“That’s a loaded question right there, Buck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me tell you imagining bucky dancing someone around the kitchen while he bakes really took me out


	5. Video Games

Stella was an avid player of video games, she could whip anyone’s ass at anything, it was what years of isolation did to her, she was a pro at anything. It was something her Dad both adored and despised, being beaten every time he tried to beat his kid at anything kind of stung. 

So Stella played video games in silence, Bucky hated loud noises and violence, so she muted her games and played ones that had no fighting. That’s how Bucky discovered Mario Kart, he sat down and watched behind her, Stella not even realising he was there, only when he cheered when she won. 

“Crap! Buck, you scared me!” 

“This one looks fun, is it just racing?”

“It’s racing with a twist.”

“Can I play?”

“Yeah, of course! You just gotta pick your character.”

“Why are you a baby?”

“I’m Baby Peach!”

“She looks dumb,” he stated, while also picking Toad. “Look how cute his little mushroom head is.”

“You’ve got a little mushroom head.”

“Is that your trash talk? That sucks, Doll.”

“Just race me, Bucky.”

Stella won the first two races by a landslide, but that was to be expected, but by the third race Bucky had caught on quickly to the controls, and was in a close second to Stella. Bucky shoved her lightly in the shoulder, making her drop her controller. 

“You cheat, Bucky!”

“Chivalry is dead, Stella,” Bucky laughed, his eyes twinkling with humour. “This is a game for winners, not losers.”

“You haven’t won yet,” Stella said, watching a blue shell fly over her head and smirking. Bucky’s Toad exploded on the screen, a large explosion taking over his screen, Bucky flinched instantly, stiffening. Stella realised how much of an idiot she was pretty quickly. “Oh Buck, I’m really sorry, I didn’t think, you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, she grabbed his hand tightly, he just looked at her smiling. “Stella, I mean it, I’m absolutely fine, that didn’t do anything.”

“It didn’t do anything? Bucky, that’s great! Usually that would set off either a panic attack or you know, the other guy, but nothing? That’s incredible!”

He laughed, both of them forgetting the game, she hugged him to her, feeling like a proud mother, she kissed the top of his head and he chuckled, pulling away. 

“Thank you, Stella,” he said, smiling at her. “I’m pretty sure that’s all because of you, thank you for believing in me all the time.”

“You’re a pretty swell guy, Bucky,” Stella mused, hugging his side. 

“Swell? What? Are you from the 50s?” Bucky teased, tickling her side, she slapped him and he winced. 

“Real funny, Buck, that’s such a great joke,” Stella said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “It’s your fault, you’re brainwashing with your vocabulary.”

“Don’t be such a dumbass, Stel.”

Stella felt her mouth drop open, staring at Bucky before a choked laugh left her mouth. 

“I can’t believe you just said that, you’re turning into such a 21st century man.”

“It’s because someone thought it be a great idea to stick me in the middle of nowhere with an annoying teenager.”

“What happened to thanking me for everything?”

“I remembered you’re irritating.”

“Words hurt, Bucky.”

“So does losing at Mario Kart.”

“I didn’t lose, you cheated!”

“Whatever makes you sleep, Stel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god i love writing these two together, i can’t wait for them to reunite in the main story


	6. Blanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for abuse on this part!!

It was a movie that did it. 

A drunk man, smashing a glass. Throwing it at the person he was arguing with. 

Stella tensed, Bucky failed to notice, his eyes hooked on the TV. He been better with violence lately, Stella being able to show him the difference between reality and the fiction of TV. 

Today it was Stella who couldn’t cope, the slur of the man’s voice, the anger in his grip. It was reminding her of something, and it was something she couldn’t remember, but something she knew terrified her. 

She could almost smell the alcohol, feel the glass shattering by her head, she felt smaller, like she was a baby. 

Her breathing was becoming erratic, and she could feel her eyes stinging with tears, she gripped the sofa, feeling it burn under her hands, knowing she wasn’t in control of her powers. 

“Stel?” Bucky questioned, turning round to see Stella sheet white, he was by her in a second. “What’s wrong? Breathe with me, come on.”

Stella tried, but her mind was too busy showing her images, a man with a bottle in his hand, take a swig and laughing when she cried, recoiling when he started to shout at her, flinching as though he’d hit her. Maybe he had, maybe that’s why she was so scared, but why couldn’t see remember? 

“Five things, Stella, come on,” Bucky was trying to get through to her, his voice calm. “Name me five things.”

“Your wavy hair, the furry rug, the sound of the pool, the smell of the cake baking in the kitchen, your heartbeat.”

“Good girl, that’s my girl,” he said, sweeping her into his arms, she flinched when his arm first touched hers, but relaxed when she realised it was just Bucky, Bucky wouldn’t hurt her. “What was that about, little Doll?”

“I don’t know, it felt like a dream, but it was so realistic. I could almost smell the alcohol, I could feel the glass scraping my face, but I can’t remember it? I can’t explain it,” she said, Bucky’s hold tightened immensely, she could feel his anger rise through him. “I need to call Nat, maybe she’ll know.”

That’s what she did, her heart still beating unevenly, her face absent of colour, but she calmed when she heard Nat’s voice. 

“Hey, doe, how’s it going? You calling me to tell me you’re coming home?”

“No, I-I need to check something with you.”

“You okay?”

“I don’t know,” Stella could feel her voice shaking. “There was something on TV, a drunk man, yelling and throwing a glass, and it sent me into this panic, and it’s like I can remember something like that.”

“I told Fury to not wipe it, it never works, if I’m so sorry, Stel,” Nat said, her voice guilty. “He should have talked to you about it, he thought wiping would be easier on you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you were about six, another agent worked with us, went by the name of Michaels, he was fine up until the night he got drunk. He was staying with you, and I think his wife had just left him. So he drank, and he got drunk, and you found him, crying, so you took the bottle away from him. Your powers weren’t the same back then, you weren’t as quick, weren’t as defensive, you were only a baby. He got really angry, started yelling and screaming, he threw his glasses at you, it smashed in your face, got glass all over you and cut you. He hit you, and hit you, and you must have retaliated, when I walked in I found you bruised and crying, and him, unconscious on the floor and bleeding. He’s in prison, Fury will probably make sure he never gets out, but Fury decided to wipe it from your memory. For weeks after you’d flinch away, if anyone raised their voice, you’d attack them. You probably should have gone to therapy, but Fury thought wiping it would be easier, I’m sorry little doe, that’s why after that only Clint, Maria, Fury, Coulson and I were allowed to look after you. You became an inner circle protection project, that’s why everyone is so protective over you, that’s why I get so defensive over you.”

“You have no reason to be sorry, I understand it, sounds like I sent him flying anyway, don’t worry about it, I’ll call you later.”

“Stel, are you oka-“

She ended the phone call, she could hear Bucky behind her, she could feel his worry, she took a deep breath. 

“What don’t I know about myself?” Stella said, not turning around to him. “Was anything else wiped? What have they done to me? Is that why I can’t refuse anything Fury asks of me? Did they wipe my entire childhood? There are blanks, I know that, things that don’t add up, spaces in my memory, I’ve just never really considered what they might be.”

“I know, the blankness that seems to appear from one day to another, the scenes in your head that you know are related but they’re disjointed, so you know something happened in between and it must be bad because you know it was wiped. And you don’t know who you actually are, you don’t know what you’ve done,” Bucky said, his voice unsteady as he grasped her shoulder. “But you know it’s bad, and that helps. Having that moral compass, knowing things are wrong and right, it means you’ve got good in you, that we’re good, I’m recovering more and more everyday, because of the absolute sunshine you are, Stel. You, despite what’s been taken from you, hidden from you, you are a huge ball of sunshine and that means you are so strong, Doll. Those blanks make you stronger, the ability to hold onto who you are as a person while the world has been tearing that away? You’re incredible.”

“Not as incredible as you.”

She turned around and hugged herself around Bucky, tears making their way down her face, not knowing her past was terrifying but having Bucky, who had the exact same problem, was the biggest comfort she could have asked for. 

“I love you, Bucky.”

Bucky froze a little, but Stella could them feel the happiness drifting from him, and she could feel him smile into her hair. 

“I love you too, Stel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the similarities between bucky and stella are one of my favourite things to write, it’s why they have such a strong friendship and i love it


	7. Night Terrors

Bucky never slept through the whole night, when he first got to the Villa, he would scream a lot but not every night. He screamed every night now, Stella supposed the more he remembered, the more it would hurt him, but it never got easier to listen to him. 

Never. 

Every night for two months, Stella would wake up in the middle of the night to screaming and crying. 

He’d gotten better at calming down, usually as soon as he locked eyes with Stella his breathing would ease, he would remember where he was, and give her a weak smile and a sarcastic comment. 

Bucky would then always send her back to bed, saying she was still growing and she needed as much sleep as she could get. 

It was their nightly routine, and then in the morning, if it had been that bad a dream, Bucky would quietly go about making breakfast, before sitting down in front of Stella to tell her what had happened. 

That was usually when they would try and work out if it was a memory or a dream, sadly, it would almost always be a memory. 

They’d created a timeline of Bucky’s life, up until his fall off the train was pretty easy to complete, his entire life history was on a display at a museum after all. 

Stella liked that part of the timeline, Bucky’s eyes would always grow fond when he remembered something about his past, usually Steve or his little sister. 

He always got upset when he talked about her, Rebecca, his eyes would always turn red, and he would try and change the subject. Stella never forced him to talk about anything he didn’t want to, if he didn’t want to talk to her about it, with all the horrible parts of his life he had confessed to her, she was never going to force him. 

There was a morning where he couldn’t look Stella in the eye, and Stella knew it had been a terrible dream. He had flinched when she’d woken her up, and it had taken him a full half an hour to even calm down a little bit, and even then he couldn’t look at her. 

“Come on, Buckaroo,” Stella had cooed, watching the corner of his mouth twitch up in acknowledgement of the nickname. “Come talk to me, you know I don’t do well without social interaction.”

“I killed you last night.”

It hadn’t been the response she’d been expecting, she blinked once, trying to take it in without showing a reaction to Bucky. 

“And yet, here I sit this morning, a medical marvel.”

“Seriously, Stel, I dreamt I lost control,” Bucky said, his body completely tensing. “You tried to save me, like you always do, and I snapped your neck. You were just lying on the floor, your eyes empty, and I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

This time she couldn’t help the flick of her eyes to Bucky’s face, he didn’t catch it, and she was glad, because she knew it would have shown the slightest bit of concern. 

She hated herself for it, the tiniest bit of herself that held back her trust of Bucky, she knew it was the logical side of her. She didn’t believe it though, Bucky would do anything if it meant keeping her safe, and she knew that, from the very top of her head, to the tips of her toes, she knew Bucky Barnes was family, and he, the real him, would never think of hurting her. 

“That was just a dream,” Stella said slowly, standing up to get closer to him. “Buck, you’d never hurt me, you know that.”

“I know,” he dismissed, confidence in his tone. “It was just the feeling it left me with, the emptiness. Then it was like I woke up in the dream, like I was suddenly back in my body, and I saw you there, broken at my hands, and I can remember the scream that left me, it’s what woke me up.”

“It’s okay,” Stella said. “It just means you’re scared that the other side will hurt me, but that’s not you, always remember that, it’s never you.”

“I won’t hurt you.”

“I know, silly.”

“I can’t hurt you.”

“Not with my powers around.”

“I will never hurt you.”

“That’s a lie, yesterday you tried to throw that pan at me and it landed on my foot, that really hurt.”

“Shut up, Stella.”

“Don’t think I can.”

Bucky’s night terrors were the reason Stella’s body had set its own personal alarm clock to wake her up at 3AM most nights, usually a second before Bucky started to cry out. 

That’s why one night when it didn’t happen, she went into full panic mode, she tried not to overreact, maybe he’d just been sleeping soundly, but that wasn’t Bucky. 

She’d rushed to check his room, not caring about the door banging and she barged in. 

But there he was, sleeping silently in his bed, seemingly completely peaceful with the world, his forehead not even creased. She stayed for an hour, it felt weird, just watching him sleep, but she stayed, just in case he’d need her. 

But he didn’t cry out, he didn’t scream, the most he did was roll over to his other side, Stella smiled a small smile and returned to her own room, letting out a quiet sigh as she got back into bed. 

It wasn’t like she was upset he wasn’t having a bad dream, in fact she was thrilled, it showed he was getting better, he was getting back to being himself. 

But looking after Bucky had instilled a powerful need to protect him, and she’d never say anything to him, but she never slept a full night either, once he had a nightmare, she’d stay up in her room for the rest of the night, listening intently for any sign of distress. 

Just in case he needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stella and Bucky are one of my favourite relationships to explore, they’re such painfully similar characters, Bucky is literally one of my favourite characters in the entire MCU, so to write Stella as an almost mirror, just raised on a different side is such an interring thing to write 
> 
> also yes this is very similar to the nightmares chapter, it’s just a sort of development to it

**Author's Note:**

> i’m so excited for these, they’ll only be small chapters about rememberable incidences during their three months to show how they got so close


End file.
